Geneva avenges loss to Streamwood
It was sort of a like a pitchers duel in baseball, but that didn't equate to exciting boys basketball in the first half of host Geneva's Upstate Eight River Division game against Streamwood on Friday night.
Even though his team overcame a very, very slow start to eventually post a 57-33 victory, Geneva coach Phil Ralston had an honest analysis of the game: "I think we probably set the game back at least a half century in that first half," he said.
And that, coming from the coach whose team led at halftime - but it was only 18-13. Streamwood held a 7-6 lead after the first quarter, which didn't see either team score until Geneva's Bennett Fuzak dipped inside for a three-point play at the 4:10 mark.
Fuzak went on to tally a game-high 11 points as Geneva (16-5, 4-3) avenged a stunning 50-47 loss to the Sabres in early December that opened the conference schedule.
And for a short period of time, it appeared Streamwood (4-19, 1-7) had every intention of giving Geneva fits again.
"They have guys that are capable of playing well and doing good things," Ralston said of the Sabres. "This is no disrespect to Streamwood, but we did not come to their place (in December) thinking it was possible we could lose the game.
"But they made shots in that game and they didn't make them in this game, and that was the difference."
After Brendon Marton swept across the lane with a jump hook to give the Sabres a 13-11 lead with 5:05 left in the second quarter, it marked the last time Streamwood would lead.
After Jordan Vetter (8 points) scored on alley-oop pass, and Matt Johnston (9 points) nailed a three-pointer, the Vikings had the stage set to take over the game in the second half.
When Streamwood switched to a zone defense to try to overcome some defensive mismatches against the taller Vikings, Fuzak opened the third quarter with a trey and Johnston completed a three-point play after getting fouled on an offensive putback.
Johnston provided a nice spark off the bench with his shotmaking and passing skills.
"Coming off the bench with energy just opens things up," Johnston said. "It was a close game after the first half, but we knew we were the better team and had to step up the energy."
In addition to heating up their scoring touch by making 10 of 15 shots in the second half, the Vikings also fared well at the free-throw line, making 15 of 18 for the game.
Cole Navigato scored all 7 of his points at the line, while missing only one free throw, while Dominic Navigato scored all 9 of his points in the second half as Geneva quickly pulled away to lead by 20 or more points most of the half.
Streamwood coach Paul Kowalyszyn said his team followed the game plan of being patient on offense and playing tight man-to-man defense, but as miscues piled up, Geneva took off.
"We wanted to play slow and I thought we did it perfectly, but we missed a couple of bunnies that hurt us," Kowalyszyn said. "In the second half, with the breakdown on defense and nothing go in on offense, that is never a good combination."
Streamwood lost to St. Charles East the previous night, and looked like a tired team in the second half.
Geneva dominated the boards 27-8, with Sean Chambers pulling down a game-high 5 for the Vikings.
Marton led the Sabres with 10 points, while Jaleel Jenkins added 9.
"Defensively, I thought are kids contested all of their shots, by and large, and we didn't make too many defensive mistakes," Ralston said.
Ultimately, Geneva may end up regretting that earlier loss to the Sabres more than any other this season when the River Division standings finally shake out and postseason seedings are handed out.
But for now, Friday night's victory feels just fine to Ralston and his Vikings, who can ill afford another conference setback with Batavia cruising along with an unblemished mark.
"Right now we are just working on one game at a time, not looking at anything long term because we just want to get better now," Ralston said. "We'll worry about February in February."